On Sunday mornings, I’d drag my ass out of bed and wander over to the cafeteria to replenish my fluids and put some food in my stomach. After that, maybe I’d take in the Browns game or listen to music on the headphones. This was the routine in spring semester, 1989 — even though the spring was a far-off, distant thought as winter dragged its feet on its way out. My favorite Sundays during my freshman year of college were the ones in which my friend Dan and I would venture into downtown Bowling Green to idle away the remains of the weekend. It wasn’t a long walk, but the inclement weather of northwest Ohio made these trips seem like they lasted for hours. Dressed sloppily in sweatpants or jeans so grungy they practically did the walking for us, hair askew and crammed under a baseball cap, and bundled in our down coats, we’d trek off campus.

Dan and I shared similar tastes in music and movies. At the time, he was one of the few Peter Gabriel fans I knew (real fans, anyway — beyond So and his few other hit songs). Dan introduced me to Gabriel’s first self-titled solo album (referred to as “Car”). From the rain-covered windshield on the cover to the cryptic lyrics to the brooding music, everything about the Car album captured the essence of those overcast days walking into town with the wind blowing, a wind so biting it cut through the many layers of clothes you wore. At times, it hurt to move. I will never miss the Bowling Green wind. Thanks to Dan I became enthralled with songs like “Modern Love” and “Humdrum.” Dan was particularly fond of the deep cut “Excuse Me,” which when I hear it now only reminds me of him and our Sunday walks.

North Main Street is the main drag of downtown Bowling Green, a long street of storefronts that were, at the time, made up of independent mom-and-pop shops. In the late ‘80s, you could still find a used bookstore or a locally run drugstore. On our way into town Dan and I would talk about anything under the sun: the cute girls in band, the movies we liked or hated, our classes, and the prospect of rooming together next fall. Going into the city wasn’t so much a shopping trip — it was more the building of a friendship. (more…)